I'd like to know how Interzone readers would feel if the magazine was a bit smaller, namely 170mm wide x 240mm tall. That's B5 I think. Interzone currently is an unnamed 200mm wide x 276mm tall.

What would be the advantages and disadvantages of such a change, for you?

Probably less content, but then the page count could perhaps go from 64 to 80 to take care of that. The stories could perhaps be one column and a more natural read, yet the pages could still be big enough to allow a little flexibility when it comes to the non-fiction.

Would 240mm x 170mm be more handy? Pocket sized?

On the other hand, would it get lost more easily on a shop shelf?

But then these smaller pages would be colour throughout.

I'm not saying we're going this route, just that it cropped up during conversations about how and where we're going to print IZ in 2010, eg if it'll be in colour as opposed to b&w (in the current size), and it'd be interesting to hear your thoughts...

Last edited by Andy on Fri Feb 19, 2010 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

My preference would be to keep Interzone at its current size. I love the current looks of Interzone, and have heard from a number of people that this year the magazine really hit its stride design wise. The current size also makes the magazine stand out from the competition.

If the move to a different size is being considered as a means to afford returning color to the interior pages, I definitely wouldn't do that. I prefer having the interior pages B&W. I also find the current two columns per page design to be easier to read than magazines which go for a one column per page format.

If the move to a different size is being considered as a means to afford returning color to the interior pages, I definitely wouldn't do that.

Not at all, though I won't deny that it'd be considerably cheaper, which is how it cropped up in conversation. Nor will I deny that I consider considerably cheaper to be a very good thing!

But a return to colour is what we were working out. It's funny, people often tell me they wish the magazine was in colour -- and it would have advantages, quite apart from being able to reproduce covers and films stills accurately, and original art in all its glory -- yet when the subject is brought up here people tell me they prefer black and white...

I think my only issue with interior colour is when it interferes with the readability of the text. As you say Andy, colour inside the mag would have a lot of advantages, and I think for me these outweigh the risks (I can only think of one or two instances - in what is it now, 5 years of TTA InterZone? - where interior colour has made small parts of a story tricky to read).

As for the change in mag size, hmm, I do quite like stories being divided into two columns rather than one larger column, but I don't think that would be a dealbreaker.

Oh, and I'll second what Jason mentioned about hearing a lot of people saying InterZone is doing a great job design-wise.

I'm very much in favour of full-colour throughout.
(Honestly, I can't understand why anyone would want to see colour artwork, or film stills & book covers, all published in b&w!)
If that requires a change to smaller format/size to make sure it's affordable, it's an acceptable compromise.

Do take into account the most important thing is, as gileadslostson said, the content. And while I'd grumble at the smaller size, as long as the content and design standards are kept at the same great level I'd get over it.

Unless I miscalculated, this new size means Interzone would be about 25-30 millimeters taller and 25-30 millimeters wider than the current size of Asimov's and Analog. By bumping up to 80 pages, that might feel like a good size. But please tell me you aren't considering a move to pulp paper! Also, would the smaller size help on other costs, such as mailing?

I quite like the idea of a smaller size.
But hopefullly not smaller content! Especially stories.
Would going smaller mean just needing one staple in the middle rather than the current 2 which might save costs of production, or would 80 pages need to be perfect bound?
Colour I'm not too sure about. Would you be keeping text for stories black on white? Colour pictures is nice though.
Perhaps you could just go for it in the smaller size and gradually build up the colour content?

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